Advances in technology have resulted in smaller and more powerful computing devices. For example, there currently exist a variety of portable personal computing devices, including wireless telephones such as mobile and smart phones, tablets and laptop computers that are small, lightweight, and easily carried by users. These devices can communicate voice and data packets over wireless networks. Further, many such devices incorporate additional functionality such as one or more digital still cameras, one or more digital video cameras, one or more infrared scanners, one or more ultrasound scanners, and so on. As such, these devices can include significant computing capabilities.
With such advances, three dimensional scanning and rendering of objects is becoming more available to casual users and novices. For example, in using cameras as input devices, wireless telephones, unmanned vehicles (such as drones), robots, aircraft, automobiles, mounted cameras, personal cameras, and other devices may be configured to capture images, which may be used to generate a three dimensional (3D) model of an object.
Handheld scanning devices or otherwise portable scanning devices (such as attached to an unmanned vehicle or mounted on a vehicle) can be used to perform a three dimensional (3D) scan. However, some assistance may be needed in operating such devices when performing a scan in order to ensure that sufficient information is collected in order to properly render an object.